Nearly half of Australian small businesses are optimistic about increasing their cash flow in 2025, and almost 30% see huge business growth potential in the next 12 to 18 months. How can your organisation realise this bright outlook? By utilising rapidly advancing AI and automation tech trends that can make your business an industry leader this year.
1. Hyperautomation for Super Efficiency Gains
Hyperautomation can revolutionise business operations by integrating AI, machine learning, and robotic process automation (RPA) to automate complex processes. Beyond traditional automation, this enables end-to-end automation of workflows.
Hyperautomation can multiply efficiency gains and cost savings for your business, no matter your industry. Let’s take Financial planning firms as an example – they can leverage hyperautomation to streamline client onboarding, compliance checks, and portfolio management. Nonprofits on the other hand, can use it to automate donor management, volunteer coordination, and reporting, so staff can dedicate more time to mission-critical activities.
2. AI-Powered Decision Making to Drive Success
AI-driver decision making will become a cornerstone of business strategy. By laser-focusing the power of AI to analysing vast amounts of data, business leaders can gain highly actionable insights and make better-informed decisions.
The integration of AI, like Microsoft artificial intelligence tools, will be particularly beneficial for organisations with core processes such as assessing risk, detecting fraud, and personalising customer experiences. For instance, NFPs can use them to optimise donor engagement strategies, predict fundraising outcomes, and enhance program impact assessments.
3. Low Code/No Code AI and Automation to Simplify Processes
The rise of low code/no code platforms is democratising AI and automation, making them accessible to more businesses of all sizes.
For SMBs, this means faster implementation, reduced costs, plus elevated efficiency and productivity. For example, smaller organisations can use Microsoft Power Automate to automate routine tasks and workflows. These can be applied to automating payment reminders and invoice processing, or streamlining HR tasks like onboarding and payroll.
4. AI Agents for Operational Efficiency
AI agents are like smart assistants that can perform tasks on their own, understand instructions, make decisions, and take action without constant human supervision. These can help you handle complex tasks, improve your operations, and lead to strategic growth.
5. Cognitive Process Intelligence for Better Business Processes
Cognitive process intelligence can help improve your business processes. It can help analyse how tasks are done, find patterns, and suggest better ways to do them through actionable recommendations.
6. Multimodal AI to Enhance Customer Experience
Multimodal AI integrates data from various sources like text, images, and audio. This can be used to analyse customer feedback from social media, reviews, and direct interactions. It can therefore help improve customer interactions, services, and offerings. (Resilium’s Refund Triage project shows how automation improved customer satisfaction.)
How to Maximise Your AI Investments
To get the most from these AI trends, you must focus on several key areas.
Prioritising AI Investments
Allocate resources strategically by focusing on high-impact areas. Start with pilot AI and automation projects to demonstrate value and scale up based on results.
(Need ideas for your automation pilot project? Here are 8 Things You Need to Stop Doing & Start Automating.)
Common AI and Automation Use Cases
Identify and prioritise use cases with the highest possible ROI for your industry or sector. For example, NFPs can harness AI for optimising donor management and engagement, while financial planners, can be automating data analysis and reporting. The fundamentals of these examples can be easily transferable to other industries.
Here are more processes where AI is commonly used:
- Customer Service Chatbots, to handle enquiries 24/7
- Personalised Marketing, to help increase engagement and conversion rates
- Inventory Management, to track inventory levels in real-time, predict demand, and automatically reorder stock
- Financial Forecasting, to make informed decisions about budgeting, investments, and financial planning
- Fraud Detection, to help identify and prevent fraudulent activities
- HR and Recruitment, to speed up hiring and find the best candidates
- Predictive Maintenance, to reduce machinery downtime and extend equipment lifespan
- Data Analysis and Reporting, to gain insights into your operations and make data-driven decisions
- Sales Automation, to ensure that no potential customer is overlooked and help sales teams focus on closing deals
- Document Automation, to reduce manual work, minimise errors, and speed up workflows
Tracking KPIs
Establish clear KPIs to measure the success of your AI and automation projects. Regularly monitor and adjust your strategies based on performance metrics, so you can maximise ROI for your business.
Using Existing Tools
Utilise readily available tools like Microsoft Copilot and Power Automate to implement AI and automation with minimal investment. This can help you quickly realise benefits without significant upfront cost.
Data Quality and Infrastructure
Ensure that your data is accurate, complete, and accessible. Set up a robust data infrastructure to support your AI initiatives and to allow seamless integration with your existing systems.
Your Next Move to Transform Your Business with AI
AI and automation trends will continue to evolve. For Australian SMBs, staying ahead of these key trends is essential to gain a competitive edge. But knowing these trends are not enough; you must act toward implementing them in your business.
You can begin by spotting the gaps and opportunities in your current processes, then follow a strategic roadmap for completion. Kickstart your journey to the top with ONGC’s AI & Automation assessment.
